London Entertaintment 2010

London is quite rightly viewed as one of the great entertainment capitals of the world. The city has more theaters than Broadway and hundreds of options for music and dance. Here are just a few of the upcoming entertainment choices available in London.

Swinging (and Singing)

The Spring Dance at the Coliseum from March 30 to April 11 will see performances from Carlos Acosta and the Ballet Nacional de Cuba. It will be the first time the Cuban company has performed at the London Coliseum and the first time Cuban superstar Carlos Acosta has performed with the whole company in the UK. The company will enchant their audience with Magia de la Danza and Swan Lake.

In April, Sadler’s Wells will present Prima Donna, the debut opera by singer-songwriter Rufus Wainwright. Prima Donna tells the tale of an aging opera singer in 1970s Paris, anxiously preparing for her return to the stage after a six-year absence. It is realized with award-winning director Daniel Kramer, British designer Antony McDonald, leading French conductor Pierre-André Valade, celebrated soprano Janis Kelly and the combined talents of Opera North.

Project Artistic Director Marin Alsop curates an exciting celebration of Leonard Bernstein, featuring performances from the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, the London Philharmonic Orchestra and the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment through July 2010 at Southbank Centre.

Following the two sold-out performances of The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, fans can experience the second chapter of this thrilling epic trilogy. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers will perform on April 23 and 24 2010 at Royal Albert Hall. Howard Shore’s score will be performed live on stage by the London Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Ludwig Wicki, to a high-def screening of the film.

Theater

Legally Blonde The Musical has opened at the Savoy Theatre following a successful run on Broadway, and John Guare’s Olivier Award-winning play Six Degrees of Separation will run at the Old Vic through April 3. Anthony Stewart Head is scheduled to star.

Several popular shows are based on hit movies. Billy Elliot the Musical has some of the best dancing in the West End (as well as Elton John songs), and Sister Act the Musical is at the Palladium. At the Shaftesbury Theatre, Hairspray is a fun, candy-colored musical comedy with a heart of pure gold.

And, of course, there’s Wicked, which has been defying gravity at the Apollo Victoria for several years. The musical offers a new take on the witches of Oz and everything that happened before Dorothy landed.

For those who would rather see something new and edgier, Enron, a new play by Lucy Prebble about the energy company’s rise and fall, runs at the Noel Coward Theatre through May 8.

A musical version of the film Ghost, about a murdered man who works with a psychic to communicate with his girlfriend, is scheduled for a London premiere in 2010.

Top Tip: Open Air Theatre

For outdoor entertainment, visit the Open Air Theatre in Regent’s Park this summer. The first production will be Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, from May 24 to June 19. Next, Shakespeare’s Macbeth is reimagined for young audiences, starting July 3, and The Comedy of Errors will run from June 24 to July 31. Stephen Sondheim’s musical Into The Woods will end the season from August 5 to September 11.